SHELBY COUNTY 



A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY 



BY 
JOHN J. LOUIS 




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Reprinted from VoLtJME II Numbers i and 2 of 
THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS 
Published ax Iowa City Iowa by 
The State Historical Society of Iowa 



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/ 



SHELBY COUNTY 



BY 
JOHN j!" LOUIS 




REPRINTED FROM 

THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS 
Published at Iowa City Iowa by 
The State Historical Society of Iowa 






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^ 



A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY 



SHELBY COUNTY 
A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY 

The purpose of this study is to examine the component 
society known as Shelby County with reference to its social 
structure; to trace the development of the original elements 
to their present state of differentiation and combination ; and 
to give a general outline of the structure as it now exists. 
It must be recognized at the beginning that a fairly adequate 
analysis of the social groups with some of their relations to 
the social whole involves possibilities beyond the scope of 
this study. ^ 

THE LAND 

Shelby County is the second county east from the Mis- 
souri river in the fourth tier of counties north from the 
southern boundary of Iowa. It contains sixteen congres- 
sional townships numbering from township seventy -eight 
north, range thirty -seven west, to township eighty -one 
north, range forty west, of the fifth principal meridian. 

The surface is gently undulating, well drained by streams 
which run through broad valleys. The forms of some of 
the largest valleys suggest the probability that once they 
were beds of chains of lakes. Only a few years ago some 
of these bottoms were wide swamps which could not be 



' The plan followed is that indicated by Small and Vincent in their Introduc- 
tion to the Study of Society, modified according to the suggestions of Professor I. A. 
Loos, under whose direction the work has been done at the State University of 
Iowa. 



4 

crossed easily. In its original condition the rolling prairie 
was covered by tall grass and myriads of flowers. Natural 
groves dotted the landscape and animal life was abundant — 
ducks and geese found the swamps a very satisfactory nest- 
ing place; quails and prairie chickens were disturbed <inly 
by the cayote, deer, or occasional elk. Squirrels and rab- 
bits, crows, hawks, and many varieties of songsters formed 
a natural society as yet unmolested by civilization. Fifty 
years have wrought great changes. God's beautiful prairie 
has become man's habitation. The whole scene is changed. 
Civilization has claimed the land by placing it all under cul- 
tivation. Looking out over the country from the hill tops 
one may see scores of country homes surrounded by trees 
and a village of farm buildings. Great herds of cattle 
graze on the hill sides. Yellow fields suggest the wealth of 
the harvest. 

THE SOIL 

In the valleys the soil is black loam resting on a bed of 
clay beneath which is found sand and gravel. The hills 
vary — some have a black soil, others reddish Itrown and 
many are yellow clay. There is very little sand and almost 
no stone in the soil. Hazel brush and dwarf oak trees grow 
on the hills. The soil is very fertile and is well adapted to 
extremes, producing crops in times of drought and flood. 

An abundance of good water is easily obtained. Wells 
vary in depth from ten feet in valleys to one hundred fifty 
feet on some hills. Springs are frequent. The water of 
the streams is often sought by stock in preference to water 
from wells. 

There are a half dozen natural groves containing oak, 



ash, elm, walnut, hickory, and basswood trees among others. 
Gallaud's Grove, named from the first settler, is the largest 
in the county, containing about one thousand acres. 

The climate is diversified. The temperature varies from 
thirty degrees below zero to one hundred twelve degrees 
Fahrenheit. Changes come very rapidly making a dift'er- 
ence of fifty degrees in twenty - four hours. From the dry 
summers and almost snowless wintei's to floods and heavy 
snows, the climate varies from year to year. Snow falls 
about Thanksgiving, and the ground is rarely snow covered 
after Easter Sunday. 

The altitude of the county seat is twelve hundred feet 
above sea level. The average annual rainfall is about 38.^9 
inches. 

J'HE POPULATION 

In 1848 Abraham Galland made the first permanent set- 
tlement in Galland's Grove. In 1849 some of the families 
from the scattering Mormons, pleased with the shelter of 
the grove, made cabins for themselves. Many of the early 
settlements of Pottawattamie, Harrison, Cass, and Shelby 
counties were efi'ected by the Mormons who left the Mor- 
mon Society at Kanesville V^ecause of its polygamous prac- 
tices. In 1854 there were one hundred forty-seven people 
in the northwest corner of the county on an area of thirty- 
si.x stjuare miles now known as Grove Township. 

In 1857 there were only six families in the southern part 
of the county — people from Pennsylvania and Ohio, who in 
1853 had come by boat down the Ohio River to the Mis- 
sissippi, thence westward and north on the south and west 
side of the Missouri to where Blair, Nebraska, is now 



6 

located. They crossed over into Iowa and started out 
across the prairie to find a home. A grove in the beautiful 
vaUey of the Nishnabotna River afforded shelter for the 
party over night, and in the morning the father announced 
that "here is the spot, the beautiful land shall be our 
home," and immediately he began to make preparations to 
build a cabin. The cows which the boy had driven behind 
the wagon were allowed to graze, the horses were tethered 
out, the fowls so long in their crate were given liberty, and 
a permanent union between the land and population was 
begun. 

By 1857 Monroe Township had acquired Danish popula- 
tion. Much as the others they came to find homes in the 
new country of opportunity. In 1868 Clay Township 
gained a Danish settler, an Adventist and a Republican who 
was very influential in persuading other Danes to come to 
this country. Each new comer induced some of his friends 
to join him in the new country — thus began the greatest 
rural colony of Danes in America. 

In 1882 Elkhorn Post Oflice was established in the north- 
eastern part of Clay Township. It is in the midst of the 
heavy Danish settlement of Audubon, Cass, and Shelby 
counties. In addition to the usual stores and other business 
places of a village it fosters an orphan's home and a college 
— both institutions of the Danish Lutheran church. 

The German colony in Westphalia Township owes its 
origin to an advertisement in a newspaper. Emil Flusche 
came from Grand Rapids, Michigan, in September, 1872, 
and undertook the task of selling railroad land in this town- 
ship. The railroad company contracted to pay a commis- 



sion of one dollar per acre on all land sold to German 
Catholics who became actual settlers, provided that there 
were forty settlers within eighteen months from the date of 
the contract. The commission was to be shared ei|ually by 
the promoters and the church ; and so from the beginning of 
the enterprise the church has played an important part in 
influencing the colony. 

Blood-relationship or kinship aided the founders of the 
colony. In October, 1872, Joseph Flusche came from 
Minnesota, and about a month later Charles Flusche came 
from Grand Rapids. On March 16, 1878, August Flusche, 
Emil Zimmerman, and John Rueschenberg came from the 
province of Westphalia, Germany. Within two years the 
township was organized with a population of two hundred 
seven. It was named Westphalia for the old home province. 

It must be remembered that the Danes and Germans have 
not confined themselves to the townships mentioned. Both 
nationalities have been energetic in gaining possession of 
the soil until the Danes occupy Clay, Monroe, Jackson, and 
Center townships with many Danes in the townships bor- 
dering on these, and the Germans possess Westphalia, 
Washington, Cass, parts of Lincoln and Shelby townships 
with German farmers in adjoining townships. 

While these foreign elements were finding their homes, 
men from other States and other counties of this State were 
rapidly claiming the land. Many of the counties in the 
eastern part of the State sent enough people here to warrant 
their designation as groups — "the Jones County settlers," 
"the Mahaskans," "the Clinton County folk." Johnson 
County furnished a colony which settled near Shelby, a vil- 



lage on the Rock Island railway, almost in the southwestern 
corner o£ the county. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and 
Illinois each furnished its quota of home seekers who have 
made the prairies yield great wealth while they established 
happy homes and the proper public institutions. 

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT^ 

In 1854 Galland's Grove Township was organized with a 
population of 174. Round Township was organized in 1856 
with a population of 188. These two townships contained 
all of the territory of the county. Harlan, Jackson, and 
Fairview Townships were created in 1860 and Round town- 
ship lost its existence in the three new ones. 

Clay Township, organized in 1867, was called Indian 
Creek untU June, 1869. It took Township 78 north, 
range 'A7 west and the east half of Township 78 north, 

' The following- statistics indicate the organization of the townships and the ter- 
ritory a.s it was divided for purposes of local government: 

ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS 
NAME TOWNSHIP RANGE WEST DATE POPULATION 

Grove 81 40 1854 174 

Harlan 79 38 1860 

.Jackson 79 37 1800 30 

Kairview 79 39 1860 130 

Clay 78 37 1867 80 

Cass 79 40 1869 120 

Shelby 78 40 1870 190 

Washington 80 40 1871 163 

Union 81 39 1871 87 

Douglas 80 38 1871 164 

Polk 79 37 1871 120 

Lincoln 79 .39 1871 129 

.Jefferson 81 37 1871 30 

Monroe 78 38 1873 550 

Greeley 81 38 1874 770 

Westphalia 80 39 1874 207 



range 38 west from Fairview Township, and the south 
one-third of Townshij) 79 north, range 1)7 west from 
Jackson. Cass Township was taken from Harlan Township 
in 1809. 

Shelby Township was taken from Fairview in 1870; 
Washington and Union from Grove in 1871; Douglas from 
Harlan and Jackson in 1871 — the west one-half of what 
is now Douglas Township, and section 34 from Harlan and 
the remainder from Jackson. During the year 1871 Polk 
was separated from Jackson ; Lincoln from Cass and Harlan ; 
and Jefferson from Grove and Jackson. Monroe Township 
was taken equally from Fairview and Clay in 1873. The 
next year saw the part of Jefferson Township, which formerly 
had been a part of Grove, organized under the name of 
Greeley. Westphalia Township was organized in 1874 with 
its boundaries those of congressional Township 80 north, 
range 39 west. 

For the purpose of better administration the city of Har- 
lan was separated from Harlan Township in 1898. The 
part outside of the corporation limits was named Center 
Township. 

While the population of the entire county has increased 
fifty per cent in the last twenty years, that of several town- 
ships has decreased since 1890. This is due to three causes: 
(1) farmers are retiring and moving into the towns; (2) 
others are buying out their neighbors, thus decreasing the 
numbers of families in the township; and (3) the young 
men and women are leaving either to find cheaper land or 
other employment. Often the homestead is left in charge 
of a son or son-in-law. The rising generation is not given 



10 



to large families. The birth rate is not enough greater than 
the death rate to offset emigration. Ten years ago the 
floating population of farm laborers was much greater than 
to-day because the farmers' boys have grown up and dis- 
placed the hired men in many instances. Another decade 
will bring about the necessity of more immigration of farm 
labor, for the tendency is to enlarge the farms. This causes 
decrease in the number of families and consequently a lower 
rate of increase in the population. The towns are growing 
steadily through the coming of day -laborers and retired 
farmers who desire the advantages of the town schools for 
their children. A few industries mentioned later furnish 
employment for several families.^ 

In 1900 the total population of the county was 17,932, of 
which 9,455 were males and 8,477 females. Of this num- 



' The following table shows the growth of the county by townships since 1880: 



TOWNSHIP 


1880 


1890 


1900 


TOWNSHIP 


1880 


1890 


1900 


Cass. . . . 


.. 498 


1025 


1073 


JeSerson . . 


. 351 


993 


1042 


Clay . . . 


. 850 


1080 


1147 


Lincoln . . 


88 


935 


725* 


Douglas. . 


. 677 


9925 


857* 


Monroe . . 


1012 


932 


894* 


Fairview . 


. 919 


873 


722* 


Polk .... 


. 443 


809 


836 


Greeley . . 


. 334 


877 


871 


Shelby. . . 


. 1299 


1457 


1443 


Grove . . . 


. 818 


721 


798 


Union . . . 


538 


1212 


1209 


Harlan . . 


. . 2172 


2563 


2422 


Washington 


506 


952 


931 


Center . . 






740 


Westphalia 


. 597 


1265 


1357 


Jackson . . 


. 800 


1009 


806* 











•Townships having decreased in population. 
The following table taken from statistical reports shows the population of the 
county and the per cent of increase from 1854 to 1900: 





POPULA- 


PER CENT OF 




POPULA- 


PER CENT OF 


YEAR 


TION 


INCREASE 


TEAR 


TION 


INCREASE 


1854 


326 




1875 


5,664 


123.15 


1856 


456 


39. 


1880 


12,696 


124.16 


1859 


784 


72. 


1885 


16,306 


28.43 


1860 


818 


4.33 


1890 


17,611 


8. 


1865 


1,900 


132.3 


1895 


17,798 


1.06 


1870 


2,640 


33.7 


1900 


17,932 


.75 



11 

ber 14,535 were native born and 8,397 foreign born. There 
were 7,898 native born of native parents and 6,627 native 
born of foreign parents. Thus the entire population of for- 
eign extraction was 10,024. The following table shows the 
number that various countries have contributed to the pop- 
ulation : 

Germany — 1,419. Denmark — 1,404. Norway — 134. 
Ireland— 111. England — 103. Canada (English)— 100. 
Sweden — 37. Austria — 21. Switzerland — 16. Scotland 
— 10. Russia — 10. Bohemia — 6. France — 6. Holland — 7. 
Poland — 1 (Russians), other Poles — 6. Italy — 2. Australia 
— 2. Belgium — 1. Canada (French) — 4. China — 0, and 
10 Negroes. 

THE MOTIVES FOR SETTLEMENT 

Inquiry of the early settlers of this county concerning the 
motives for settling here brings many answers. Home- 
seeking, usually, is the predominating one. Of the possible 
motives — health, wealth, sociability, knowledge, religion, 
morals, and desire for beauty — wealth is the reason gener- 
ally given, although the other motives were satisfied in a 
measure. 

The settlers who followed Abraham Galland to Galland's 
Grove left the Mormon train at KanesviUe, now Council 
Bluffs, because of differences in religion and morals. Po- 
lygamy was not in accord with the moral sentiments and 
religious feelings of these separatists and it formed a motive 
for them to find homes where they could associate with 
those who were likeminded with regard to marriage. 



12 

The motives which prompted the settlement of West- 
phalia were two-fold — an opportunity to make money and 
to do a service to the Roman Catholic church at the same 
time. Cheap homes in a fertile land among those people 
who were of the Roman faith were in brief the motives in- 
ducing settlers to come to Westphalia. After a few families 
had settled in the colony their friends and relatives were 
urged to come, and so sociability became a strong motive in 
building up the population. 

The Danish people who came here did so mainly through 
the efforts of their friends who had come before. This has 
not yet stopped. Letters still go l^ack to the fatherland 
describing the beauties and possibilities of this fair land. 
Money is sent, and the United States receives another immi- 
grant. In the experience of the colony of Danes, one mem- 
ber of a family — the first to come here — has been the 
means of bringing over all the other members of the family. 

In several instances young men have sent money back to 
sweethearts to bring them to this new home where the temp- 
tation was too great — the money was kept and the girl 
stayed in the old country. In January, 1903, the papers 
noted a case in which the young woman refused to marry 
the man after she came. 

Many of the Danes and Germans visit the fatherland; but 
almost invariably return to America. One of these visitors 
writes from Copenhagen as follows: "People don't believe 
me when I tell them about the liberty we enjoy in America 
and the possibilities and opportunities which abound there. 
I am sick of home and homesick for my adopted country, 
America. I am coming back glad to realize my good for- 



13 

tune in being a citizen of the United States. I am bringing 
with me a young man, a future citizen. " 

The early population showed other motives than the mere 
keeping of health and the gaining of wealth. A certain 
amount of both health and wealth is necessary to existence. 

Knowledge as a motive was shown in the building of 
school houses. Very early in the settlement of the county 
subscription schools put opportunities before the children. 
Schools were held in cabins or in other log buildings, a log 
granary serving in one instance. Frequently schools were 
held in dwelling houses, with the children of the family the 
only pupils and the mother their paid teacher. 

Religious societies were organized and meetings held in 
groves, calwns, school houses, in the county court house 
later, and anywhere that a group of peo})le could be gath- 
ered to worship God. The Danes attended long services 
regularly; the Germans followed their priest through various 
services on Sunday; the Americans went visiting by dozens 
and scores. For them the motive of sociability asserted 
itself strongly. 

The desire for beauty was present from the very earliest 
time. Muslin hangings to cover the rude walls of the log 
cabin were unmistakable signs of esthetic feeling. Even the 
careful removal of the bark from the parts of the logs which 
showed on the inside of the house and the smoothly worked 
chinking showed aesthetic tendencies which in a score of 
years expressed themselves in beautiful houses surrounded 
by fine lawns and flowers. 



14 

SEGREGATING INFLUENCES 

Among the Danes one of the first settlers was an Advent- 
ist. He worked hard to induce his fellow church-men to 
come to this country, and a flourishing church grew up in 
Clay Township. Lutherans and Baptists came also, and the 
segregating effect of the difference in sect is noteworthy. 
The Lutherans are strongest around Elkhorn which is the 
center of the great Danish settlement. 

In the western part of Clay Township and eastern Mon- 
roe we find the Baptists. About a (quarter of a mile west 
of the Danish Baptist church was once a Union church which 
stood as a monument to the fact that there must be some 
vital connection with a living organization with its traditions 
to insure its perpetuity. In this Union church were Luther- 
ans and Presbyterians from Pennsylvania; Methodists from 
Ohio and Indiana; Campbellites, as they were called, from 
Illinois; and men and women who had no church afliliations 
other than those established by the U^nion church. 

Among the Danes the political parties offered a segregat- 
ing influence. The Lutherans were Democrats; the Advent- 
ists and Baptists were Republicans. 

The agitation of the slavery question lirought about con- 
ditions which separated men in every relation of life. The 
feeling was strongly anti-slavery, and the few men who were 
in sympathy with the south, or were Democrats, were 
listed by some of the county officers as "Copperheads." 

Nationality was a strong segregating element in the 
county group and an equally strong unifying force in the 
natural group. 



1 



15 

UHTFTING INFLUENCES 

The unifying influences were almost solely of two kinds, 
a common ancestry or nationality, and the necessity of 
union for protection and progress. The men planned to 
journey to mill and market together. It was forty -five 
miles to Council Bluffs, and the denizens of the county went 
there to trade until 1869 when the Rock Island railroad was 
completed across the State. Avoca then became a trading 
point and post office. 

All attended the county conventions without regard to 
party. On one convention day a group of men on their 
way to the meeting found a young Republican breaking 
prairie with his four yoke of oxen. They invited him 
to accompany them, and on his refusal because of the 
urgency of his work, they threatened to put him "on the 
ticket." Accordingly he was given the nomination on the 
Democratic ticket for the most important county office. His 
Republican friends were greatly amazed at his election. 
The fact still remains that in county politics the ability and 
character of the man stands for more than party allegiance. 

In the early histoiy of the county we find extensive 
cooperation in many things which promoted good feeling 
and a wholesome spirit of sociability. The building of 
houses and barns found a group of men hauling the lumber 
from Avoca or earlier hauling logs to the nearest sawmill in 
Bowman's Grove or Harrison County and returning with 
lumber — cottonwood, poplar or hard wood of some sort, 
oak, walnut or ash. Neighbors helped build the cabins; 
and later when the family had become larger and prosperity 
warranted a new house, they raised the frame. Barn rais- 



16 

ing, butchering, threshing, and working the roads united 
the men and women of each neighborhood. While the men 
were at their tasks, the women were preparing a bounteous 
dinner. After the work was done the men engaged in 
friendly bouts, wrestling, racing, and other feats of strength. 
These occasions were the real holidays of early times. Con- 
tract road- working leaves threshing the only remaining gala 
day of its kind. In view of the fact that in some localities 
the population changes so rapidly the personnel of the 
threshing crew changes so much from year to year that 
much of its value as a unifying influence is lost. 

In Harlan the peoj)le have long been unified in their 
sport. Since 1878 there has existed some form of organized 
athletics, varying from hose teams and association football 
to roller skating, base ball, and rugby. It is no wonder 
that this county furnishes its share of college athletes. 

We find the Germans unified most thoroughly in their re- 
ligion. The colony is Roman Catholic, and in the county 
there are five Catholic churches. A common faith and a 
common nationality provides a strong unifying influepce. 
In addition to this there is but little difference of opinion in 
politics, the Germans being nearly all Democrats. 

In other parts of the county we find marked tendencies 
to unity in the endeavor to accomplish something for the 
good of the community. The defunct societies known as 
Farmers' Alliance and the Cooperative Association were in- 
tended to supply the economic wants of the community at 
less expense than local merchants would. These associa- 
tions were short lived because the people would not fully 
carry out the plans of the organizations. There was not 
continuous and constant cooperation. 



17 

THE FAMILY 

The men who came to this county in its beginning brought 
their families with them in many cases; and if there was no 
family to bring, one was established as soon as the man 
could get possession of enough land and sufficient capital to 
start to farm for himself. Those who came here were 
home seekers and they have proved themselves to be home 
builders. It is a noteworthy fact that not men alone came 
either from other States or foreign lands; but men and 
women both came from the very first. Many Danish and 
German girls came to this country because their brothers, 
cousins, or friends had told them of its opportunities. 
These girls first worked as domestics in families needing 
help, and many of them went to homes made for them by 
their prosperous fellow countrymen who had saved their 
months' earnings until a small farm could be I'ented and 
a team and machinery provided. A housekeeper was then 
sought. Even to this day such beginnings are crude and 
accomplished by many privations and hardships. 

The family established now knows nothing of the inde- 
pendence which was necessary for the early family to take 
upon itself. The family which came here in the early fifties 
or in 1860 had to be a miniature society in itself. Not only 
did the husband provide the food and fuel and the wife 
prepare the meal, but all the economic functions were dis- 
charged by the family. It was forty miles to mill, and many 
times when the snow made travel impossible the women 
ground grain in coffee mills. During one very severe win- 
ter, that of 1856-7, one family ground sixteen bushels of 
buckwheat on an ordinary hand coffee mill. It was often 



18 

necessary to pound corn or grind wheat for food. During 
such times families practiced all possible cooperation ; but it 
was miles between neighbors. 

Great contrasts may be drawn between the conditions of 
family life of the present and the years just before the war. 
By 1860 there were only 818 people in the county. They 
lived in rough houses, log cabins with thatched roofs, dug- 
outs, or cabins with a sod coating outside the logs. They 
worked hard to wrest enough more than a living from the 
soil to pay for land and improvements. The methods of 
production — the ox team plow, the reaping by cradle or by 
the hand rake reaper drawn by horses, the binding of the 
grain by hand, its stacking, its threshing by flail and by 
tramping or by means of the crude threshing machine — all 
were processes which were harder labor than the present 
methods of grain raising impose on the farmer. Add to 
these things the distance to market, the lack of bridges and 
good roads, and the waste which all of the difHculties men- 
tioned caused in time, strength, and material, and we see 
under what disadvantages the early families labored. All 
the members of the family assisted in raising the crop. 
The women did anything from raising vegetables to stacking 
wheat and husking corn. 

Family life of those days is marked by the way the fami- 
lies did or did not observe Sunday. Whatever had been 
the custom of the family in the old home was followed here. 
In most cases some religious service was held, if only the 
dust were removed from the old family bible. Many Sun- 
days were spent in holding meetings in groves or at some of 
the larger houses. Neighborhoods gathered in Sunday 



19 

schools; and where there were school houses they were used 
for church purposes. 

As a rule the Danish people all went to church. Their 
services were long, but the people were devoted. The 
Americans were not as faithful in church attendance as their 
brethi'en from Denmark. 

The Americans spent many of their Sundays in visiting. 
They went by the wagon load and stayed all day. These 
Sunday gatherings of genial spirits did much to unify the 
community. The Danes, when they came, visited each 
other after divine service and because of difference in lan- 
guage and customs did not associate with the Americans to 
any great extent. Many of their families became unsocial 
because of the great effort by which wealth was to be 
acquired. There was no time for sociability in the family, 
and this determined the unsocial character of many of the 
people. Even to this day the Danes show a preference for 
their own nationality in matters of business, although they 
disown such attitude if they are questioned concerning it. 
The Danes who were born in America and who have been 
reared under the influence of our institutions are thoroughly 
American. 

The Danes are a happy, contented, hard working people. 
Conservative, they love order; yet they are not sluggish in 
their conservatism and will defend their rights vigorously. 
They do not burden the courts with suits. 

Most of the Danes have been here less than twenty- 
five years. Many earned their passage money after com- 
ing. Scores of men who landed in America penniless, 
hired out, saved their wages, bought a team and farming 



20 

implements, and by constant economy and industry have 
come to own large farms. 

Untiring in industry, rigidly economical, they permitted 
no waste of material or supplies. All the nooks and corners 
were utilized. This practice often led] to serious offence to 
the more issthetic and often less prosperous. An onion bed 
is not an ideal front yard, nor does a cabbage or potato 
patch make an acceptable substitute for a nicely kept lawn. 
But front yard gardens are certainly preferable to pigs and 
poultry before the door. Happily this stage in the evolu- 
tion of the Dane was passed sometime ago by the more 
prosperous ones. Every community, however, has and will 
continue to have a few inhabitants who prefer the uncouth 
and unsanitary environs of the pig sty. 

As a citizen the Dane is a desirable addition to the com- 
munity. He thinks, is usually conscientious, and votes in- 
telligently. Allegiance to party is about equally divided 
between Republicans and Democrats. When the prohibi- 
tion question was before the people, church affiliation seemed 
to have had some bearing on politics. The Lutherans were 
for beer, while the Baptists were for no beer. 

The Danes are very sociable and hospitable among them- 
selves. They visit each other frequently and groups often 
assemble for picnics. There are numerous Sunday afternoon 
festivities. 

The fifth of June is celebrated as their national holiday 
on account of the royal grant of greater liberties. The 
Danish flag and the Stars and Stripes are unfurled, speeches 
are made, and demonstrations such as are common on the 
Fourth of July are indulged. 



21 

Sunday picnics are common in the summer, and public 
•dances in the winter. These picnics and balls are often not 
exclusive. Usually they are given on the subscription plan 
by two or three of the enterprising young men. The balls 
are not held on Sunday, although the entertainment differs 
but little from that of the Sunday picnic and platform 
dance. 

The Danes cpiickly adapt themselves to American ways of 
business but the family life remains much the same as 
it was in the old country, especially among the early settlers. 
There is one family at least which carries on all the domes- 
tic manufactures common to the family in Denmark. Wood- 
en shoes, yarn, homespun cloth, and the ordinary domestic 
utensils are all made in that home — unconsciously the arts, 
and crafts are thus fostered. 

In the heart of the German settlement is maintained a lit- 
tle Germany where the manners and customs of the father- 
land flourish unmolested among the older people. The 
young generation is American, and it adapts itself readily to 
the customs and usages which pi-evail outside of the colony. 
In spite of his beer and Sunday games of base ball, the Ger- 
man is a good citizen who upbuilds the social cause and does, 
his part to improve conditions in which he lives. The home 
life is the last to yield to the influence of the new country^ 

SOCIAL AGGREGATES 

Among the social aggregates first to be mentioned ar& 
those held together by bonds of blood relationship. There: 
are many families among the residents of Shelby County 
whose history is inseparably connected with that of the 



county. The influence which these families had on the com- 
munity is seen in the fact that in many cases the family name 
became the name of the community. A notalJe example is 
Hacktown, where a father, mother, and several children l)y 
the name of Hack settled in a grove in what is now Fair- 
view Township. They all lived in a close community for 
several years. The name Hacktown is now without mean- 
ing, for the family of Hacks has scattered. Later there was 
a similar settlement in Shelby Township, formed by the 
Myers family. 

Nearly every family which settled in the county before 
1870 left its definite influence in forming aggregates. In- 
vestigation shows that by a complication of intermarriages 
and the claims of either a common ancestry or a common 
birth-place the early population of Cuppy's Grove, Galland's 
Grove, Hacktown, and other settlements were bound in 
spontaneous aggi'egates more closely than would be possible 
for such people in voluntary associations. 

The Danes and Germans found themselves separated from 
the other parts of the population by their nationality; and 
the immigrants were considered as a "law unto themselves." 
Conditions in this county when the Danes began to come in 
1867, as I have observed earlier in this essay, were such that 
it was not only natural but inevitable that they should be 
grouped by themselves. The English speaking people were 
already in possession of the soil with fairly well developed 
local institutions, such as schools, church societies, and a 
local government. 

Many of the Danes had to work for the Americans as farm 
laborers, and were naturally looked down upon as foreigners. 



23 

The Danes were sensitive and resented the attitude which 
■was taken by many of the Americans. Attention might be 
called to a few cases of poetic justice which time has wrought. 
Thirty years find the tables turned in many cases, and the 
American settler who hired the young Dane has now become 
his hireling. Many sons of settlers who despised the Dane 
are now glad to work for him on the farm, in the shop, or 
at the store. Many of the Danes have bought the farms on 
which they once worked. 

By force of circumstances the foreign population associ- 
ated with the English speaking people, but the bond of 
union was economic. Merchants recognize this fact, and 
clerks who speak Danish or German are found in almost 
every stoi'e in the county. 

In earlier times it was common for the Jones County folk, 
the Johnson County people, the Clinton County settlers, 
who had come from homes farther east, to meet in Jones, 
Johnson, or Clinton County reunions. Just as the Danes 
and Germans were brought here by the influence of their 
friends who had come earlier, so these people from eastern 
Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and farther east came because 
they had heard from friends and relatives that the prairies 
of Shelby County offered opportunities worth the taking. 

The Danes and Germans are grouped geographically in a 
fairly definite manner. Some note with alarm that they are 
buying much of the land from the Americans. These "for- 
eigners," as they are called, although many of them were 
small children when their parents came to this country, are 
really taking possession of the farms by virtue of their very 
sturdiness and their disposition to work hard and save. 



24 

By countiag the business houses in Harlan it is found 
that over half the stores and shops are kept by Danes and 
Germans. Not counting the clerks, there are forty business 
men who are of Danish or German parentage. In buying 
the Americans make no distinction, and as a matter of fact 
patronize the merchant who furnishes the best grade of 
goods at the lowest prices. It is noteworthy that the Danes 
and Germans trade with their own kind. This is perfectly 
natural and may be explained in part by the recognition of 
the bond of nationality, a consciousness of kind, and a com- 
mon language. 

Business men recognize the necessity of making their 
customers feel at home, and so nearly every store has its 
clerks who speak English and one or more of the foreign 
languages. Every business man has his customers who pre- 
fer to deal with him and often refuse to buy of any other. 
Each business man has built up a custom peculiarly his 
own, which might be designated as an involuntary social 
aggregate. 

In the towns and country there are distinctions made on 
the basis of wealth. The amount of property, the size of 
the house in which a man lives, the part of town in which 
he resides, are made the bases of distinction by some peo- 
ple. A certain street in Harlan is designated as "Quality 
Row" by those who live in a less desirable residence dis- 
trict. Business and professional men occupy certain parts 
of town, while laborers predominate in certain other local- 
ities. 

Expressions frequently come to the ears of the teachers 
in the Harlan schools suggesting distinctions in ability and 



25 

culture among the children in the north and central schools. 
Observation prov-es, however, that the school asserted by 
some to be rough and rude does in fact behave as well as the 
so-called better schools. 

In a rural community such as this there is one class which 
attracts attention, namely, the retired farmers. These men 
have made themselves independent by their labor and man- 
agement, and have moved to town to enjoy rest and quiet 
association with their fellows during the years which remain 
to them. As a rule they are energetic and progressive and 
take a lively interest in the welfare of the town. They are 
a source of much merry-makiug. In their leisure they tell 
their experiences and ideas of farming; and they plant, sow, 
or reap, according to the season, in their conversations held 
on sidewalks or in public places. Although they are liberal 
as a rule, they are in a sense conservative, and any public 
improvements which call for an increased tax levy find at 
least some opposition among this class. Each town in the 
county has its quota of retired farmers. 

In the country there is a class distinction made between 
renters and those who own their farms. This is a distinc- 
tion which is certainly based on wealth, for when the renter 
was a hired man he was a member of the family and shared 
in the family's pleasures. 

Among the groups united by common interests we find 
rural schools and independent districts using all told one 
hundred forty- six buildings and employing one hundred 
eighty- five teachers. 

In Elkhorn there is a college which has had a varied career 
as an institution of the Danish Lutheran church. The main 



26 

building is twenty -six feet wide by ninety -four feet long, 
two and one-half stories high, with dormitories accommodat- 
ing eighty students. It was built by the Danish community 
and is supported by tuition receiv^ed from the students — 
fourteen dollars per month on the dormitory plan. The 
course of study includes the English and Danish languages, 
bookkeeping, shorthand, music, and such other studies as 
are usually taught in academies or high schools. During the 
present year three teachers were employed in this college. 
The public school employs two teachers. 

The Sisters' school at Westphalia is conducted under the 
influence of the Roman Catholic church. In addition to the 
studies commonly taught in elementary schools, instruction 
is given in the German language. In several schools in 
Westphalia Township, German is taught because the parents 
want their children to learn to read the language of the 
fatherland. 

The Danish Lutheran Orphans' Home is located at Elk- 
horn. It receives children from any Danish congregation in 
the United States and keeps them until they are of age. 
During 1902 this home cared for twenty-three children, 
and at present it is caring for twenty- five. It has property 
worth ^40,000, received during the past year $1,476.08, and 
expended the sum of $1,420.28. 

Of the many business associations or partnerships which 
exist in this county there are a few which deserve notice 
from the student's point of view. One of these is the coop- 
erative creamery which owes its success to the fact that a 
sufficient number of men, who keep cows for the money they 
make, have built these creameries and supply them with the 



27 

necessary cream. Shelby County men had taken stock in 
creameries before, but the enterprise failed because not 
enough milk could be procured by the creamery to supply 
the amount necessary to run the plant with profit. 

Some of the creameries collect the cream by sending out 
wagons with three or four tin cans, which hold about thirty 
gallons each. The driver skims the milk and measures the 
cream, which is paid for at so much per inch. Many farmers 
now own their own separators, for which they pay a])Out 
$100. This is especially desirable in case the creamery is 
one which uses the separator plan; for the milk after having 
been taken to the creamery and sejiarated becomes sour and 
unfit for food even for pigs— much less for calves — before 
it can be returned to the farm. A cream separator pays for 
itself in a few months through the use of the by-product. 

One creamery in the village of Corley served its patrons' 
douVjly by giving them a market for their cream and by car- 
rying their mail. Parcels were also carried, and small shoj)- 
ping was done by the milk hauler. 

These creameries are especially prosperous in Jackson, 
Fairview, Monroe, and Clay townships among the Danish 
people. The following report shows what one creamery 
brings into a community: milk received, 2,308,867 pounds; 
butter fat, 76.5, 4'45 pounds; butter made, 90,505 pounds; 
amount received from sales, $17,283.37. The gross price 
for butter was 19 t^^s^ cents per pound throughout the year. 

A young man who was a "hired man" five years ago told 
me in August, 1902, that he was selling $70 worth of cream 
per month. He employed a man and a girl who helped him 
milk seventeen cows night and morning. This man counted 



28 

his receipts from cream as pure gain, because the milking 
took very little time that could be used profitably for any- 
thing else; while the herd grazed on the bottom and timber 
land which was fit for nothing but pasture. 

The following extracts from the articles of incorporation 
of three of the creameries set forth the plan of cooperation. 

1. Articles of Incorporation of Center Creamery Company, 

Filed for Record March 10, 1900. 

article VI 

The object of thia association is to handle all milk and to manu- 
facture it into first class butter and to sell same for patrons; factory 
to be operated on the cooperative plan, patrons to receive their pro- 
portion of the net proceeds of each month's make in money. Each 
patron's share to be based on what part of the whole amount of milk 
each patron furnishes. Necessary running expenses to be deducted 
each month together with a sinking fund which shall be aj>plied to- 
ward the first cost of the creamery plant. ' 

2. Articles of Incorporation of the Clay Township Cream- 

ery Company, Filed for Record March 22, 1903. 

article v 
In case the Company's business should become unprofitable and 
would have to dissolve, all unpaid moneys invested shall be equally 
divided among all members who shall be compelled by law to pay 
their equal share of such indebtedness. 

ARTICLE VI 

If a member should withdraw or quit selling his milk without 
good reason, he shall after six months be compelled to pay his share 
of all debts concerning said company except in case of death, selling 
out, moving out of the township, or quit farming. 



1 There are forty-five men in this association. 



29 

ARTICLE VII 

In case tliis comjiany shall have to dissolve, a two-thirds vote of 
all members shall be required to decide. 

ARTICLE VIII 

This constitution may be amended by two-thirds vote of the mem- 
bers present at any lawful meeting. 

3. Articles of Incorporation of the Corlet Creamery Com- 
pany, Filed for Record February 16, 1901. 

article XI, SECTION 2 

The object of this association is to handle milk and cream sepa- 
rated by centrifugal separator and manufacture the same into first 
class butter and sell for the patrons, factory to be operated on the 
cooperative plan. Patrons to receive their portion of the net pro- 
ceeds of each month's make of butter money, each patron's share to 
be based on what part of the whole amount of milk or cream such 
patron furnished in proportion to the amount of fat in such milk or 
cream. Necessary running expenses to be deducted each month and 
a sinking fund, which shall be increased or decreased by two-thirds 
vote (to pay interest, taxes, and the plant) to be made to the patrons 
of each month's milk as soon as all returns are in. There will be no 
dividends. 

The a))Ove articles are copied literally from the county 
records. 

The tables of figures which follow indicate the political 
preferences of the county as a whole. They show also how 
each precinct voted in the elections of 1901 and 1902. 

VOTE FOR PRESIDENT 1900 
PARTY CANDIDATE VOTE 

Republican McKinley 2182 

Democratic Bryan 2010 

Prohibition Wooley 32 

Peoples Barker 

Social Democratic Debs 8 



30 

VOTE FOR GOVERNOR VOTE FOR CONGRESS- 

1901 MAN 1902 

TOWNSHIP CUMMINS PHILLIPS SMITH CULLISON 

Cass 91 154 90 156 

Center 103 51 95 60 

Clay 114 74 126 80 

Douglas 114 76 117 83 

Fairview 73 90 72 81 

Greeley 99 46 102 40 

Grove 71 68 70 65 

Harlan, first ward Ill 56 87 70 

Harlan, second ward... 87 65 99 84 

Harlan, third ward 65 49 55 60 

Harlan, fourth ward. .. . 72 52 63 62 

Jackson 82 102 82 121 

Jefferson 137 71 125 88 

Lincoln 75 82 71 85 

Monroe 114 56 110 69 

Polk 94 43 82 48 

Shelby 175 117 198 135 

Union 121 140 118 130 

Washington 84 125 55 127 

Westphalia, precinct 1.. 35 115 29 101 

Westphalia, precinct 2.. 7 121 8 112 

Total 1926 1753 1855 1866 

Total vote for Governor 3679. Total congressional vote 3721. 

The German vote is conspicuously Democratic, especially 
in the two precincts o£ Westphalia Township. In 1902 
thirty-seven of two hundred fifty-nine voters in Westphalia 
voted the Republican ticket. Among the Germans in Cass, 
Lincoln, Fairview, and Shelby townships there is not the 
approach to unanimity that we find in Westphalia, although 



31 

the Germans are as a rule Democrats. The Germans in 
Shelby Township are Lutherans and Republicans. 

Among the Danes there is nearly an equal division in the 
preference shown to political parties. In county affairs they 
will often favor a candidate who is personally j)leasing to 
them, although he may be on the "other ticket." 

Both Democratic and Republican parties are organized 
with county central committees, and township and ward 
chairmen; and the voters are carefully listed, so that it is 
possible for the enterprising chairman to have a committee- 
man visit every man known to affiliate with his party. In 
this way the party canvass is as closely made as in the cities 
where bosses are working. Even the rural communities 
have their political leaders, who are sometimes elected but 
more often self-appointed. By taking hold of the work, 
and thus becoming influential, by attending township cau- 
cuses, by being sent as a delegate to the county convention, 
by doing political joV)s for candidates, these leaders are 
rewarded later by a deputyship or possildy by a nomination 
to a county office. 

In addition to the Republican and Democratic parties 
there have been organizations of the Prohibition party, the 
Populist party, and the Free Silver Republican party. Other 
parties have received a few votes. For example. Debs, the 
Social Democratic candidate for President, received eight 
votes in 1900. The Prohibition party has a following of 
less than forty men who believe that the only way to settle 
the liquor (juestion is to vote the ticket of that party. That 
there are plenty of peoi)le who do not favor the li([uor traffic 
is shown by the fact that there are no saloons in Shelby 



32 

County. It is impossible to secure a sufficient number of 
petitioners. 

For several yeai's prior to 1900 the Peoples party had a 
loose organization. In the election of 1900 only six voted 
for the presidential candidate of the party. At one time the 
party was assisted by the establishment of a weekly news- 
paper, The Industrial American^ which was to be the organ 
of the party. Through vicissitudes and changes in owner- 
ship the Harlan American, has become a Democratic organ, 
and the majority of the members of the Peoples party are 
now voting the Democratic ticket. 

Fusion has become absorption where the Free Silver ele- 
ments have joined the Democratic party in this county. 
The Free Silver Republicans joined the Populists in 1896, 
and later both joined the Democratic forces. The three 
county conventions were held at the same time in diffei-eut 
rooms in the court house at Harlan. Later a joint meeting 
was held and fusion agreed upon with much rejoicing. 

Among the social aggregates in this county are churches 
of the following sects: American and Danish Baptist, Amer- 
ican and Danish Adventist, Congregatioualist, Catholic, 
Christian, Dunkard, German and American Evangelical, Epis- 
copal, Latter Day Saints, Methodist, Presbyterian, United 
Brethren, and Union. The small towns of the county are 
all well supplied with churches — so well, indeed, that the 
congregations in many places are too small to support a pas- 
tor for full time. And so one pastor is sometimes called 
upon to fill two pulpits. 

The Catholic church finds its adherents largely among 
the Germans, and their church building at Westphalia is one 



33 

of the best in western Iowa. A few Irish C^atholics attach 
themselves to the German churches in various parts of the 
county. There are Catholic churches in Harlan, West- 
phalia, Earling, Portsmouth, and Panama. Some of the Ger- 
mans who live in the southern part of the county attend the 
Catholic church at Avoca. 

The Danes are found chiefly in three churches — the Bap- 
tist, Lutheran, and Adventist. Many of the young people 
and some of the })arents attend churches which hold no ser- 
vices in the Danish language. The Danish Baptist church in 
Monroe Township, as well as the one in Harlan, holds morn- 
ing service in Danish and the evening service in English. 
The Lutheran center is Elkhorn for the Danes and Shelby 
for the Germans. 

The Dunkards have a church building at Bowman's Grove 
in Center Township. They attract some attention by their 
piety and their simplicity of dress. The poke bonnets 
which the women wear are especially conspicuous. 

The earliest settlers of Shelby County were members of 
the church which was established among the people who 
left the Mormons at Council Bluffs — then known as Kanes- 
ville. The Latter Day Saints stiU have a strong congrega- 
tion in Grove Township where many of their people settled. 
Harrison County, which is just west of Shelby County, also 
has a large number of these people. Some of Harlan's 
early settlers were Latter Day Saints, and a small congre- 
gation still e.xists in this town. 

The Methodists have the largest number of congregations 
in the county. 

If one could assemble instantly and without notice all 



34 

the people in cliurch on a Sunday morning it would be a 
representative assembly — representative of the best moral 
and intellectual elements in the county. But many wives 
and mothers would appear as the sole representatives of 
their families. It is safe to say that the assembly would 
constitute a minority of the people. Indeed, all the churches 
filled would hold not more than seventy-five per cent of the 
people living in the towns alone. 

The church societies play an important part in determin- 
ing cliques in all the towns of the county. Even the county 
seat is hoj^elessly divided for social functions by the lines 
which are laid for church activity. The young people of 
each church flock together, and even the older people find 
the company of other sectarians distasteful at times. Some- 
times there are smaller groups within the church itself. The 
several churches or sects differ on questions of popular 
amusement such as card- playing, dancing, theatre-going; 
and groups are easily distinguished in some of the churches 
on the basis of card -playing. 

Sometimes distinctions are drawn which are clearly false 
and entirely artificial. The presumption is common that a 
certain church has a monopoly on the richest denizens of 
the town; that another represents the "best society" in its 
large membership; and that still another is "the poor man's 
church." These distinctions are non-essential to the differ- 
entiation of religious groups, and are simply man and 
woman made, distinctions fostered in the sewing society, in 
the young folks' entertainments, or in conversation wherever 
it turns upon church matters. 

The young people enjoy the union meetings of the young 



35 

peoples' societies for religious work; and the effect of such 
meetings is marked by its broadening influence. One pastor 
has organized a club of men whose special function is to im- 
prove the Sunday evening meetings. The clul) is constantly 
supplied with work to do and, therefore, has some reason 
for existence. 

The holiday vacation of the young people attending col- 
lege causes a readjustment in the groujjing for the time l)e- 
ing. The renewal of old accpiaintances and the effort to 
entertain the friends who have returned for the holiday 
season have a marked tendency to break down the church 
lines. In many cases the bond of union is in the hostess 
alone. 

There are family reunions, neighborhood gatherings, 
quiltings, and carpet-rag sewings in the country, and Ken- 
singtons in town. In Westphalia weddings often bring three 
hundred people together. On these festal occasions there is 
usually an abundance of refreshments and entertainment. 
Beer and dancing are essential at the typical wedding in 
Westphalia. There are many weddings among the Ger- 
mans which are consummated without the "celebration," 
but as a rule all the friends and neighbors join in the felicity 
of the wedding day, letting it take precedence over all other 
claims and duties. 

Fraternal societies flourish in this county. The Masons 
are strong, having lodges in Harlan, Defiance, Shelby and 
Irwin. Together with the Eastern Star, the sister lodge, 
these form a strong bond of union among a large number of 
the leading citizens of the county. 

The Odd Fellows Order was established in Harlan in 



36 

1873, a year after the organization of the Masonic Order. 
There are lodges of this society at Shelby and Irwin, but 
their membership is not as large as is that of the Masons. 
Associated with the Odd Fellows is the order of women 
known as Rebeccas. 

The Knights of Pythias once had a flourishing lodge in 
Harlan, but like many other insurance orders interest de- 
creased. The organization, however, still exists. On the 
other hand, the lodges of the Legion of Honor and the 
Ancient Order of United Workman have passed entirely out 
of existence. 

In addition to the societies already mentioned there are 
the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen of 
America, the Maccabees, and an attempted organization of 
a new Homestead of Yeomen. 

The Modern Woodmen and their sister society, the Royal 
Neighljors, recognizing the necessity of something more 
than inexpensive fraternal insurance to hold a group of peo- 
ple together, have equipped their lodge rooms comfortably 
and provided kitchen and dining rooms with proper furni- 
ture. They spend many pleasant evenings together as a 
big family. I am confident that the lodge has acquired 
many of its three hundred members through the influence 
of the good-time social side of the organization. 

The Danish Brotherhood established in Harlan in Febru- 
ary, 1903, already has a membership of fifty persons. Sim- 
ilar lodges in Jacksonville and Clay Township have about 
the same membership. 

The A. P. A. was very active in the county for a short 
time when that society was flourishing generally thi-oughout 



37 

the country. Their organization in this place was disbanded 
because of internal dissension. 

The P. E. O. society maintains a subscription library con- 
taining about fourteen hundred volumes of choice fiction, 
travel, biography, and children's books. The ladies explain 
that the "new books" are the ones most called for, and hence 
the library is made up largely of recent works of fiction. The 
society charges five cents per book, with the privilege of 
keeping it two weeks, or one dollar for a certificate for a 
year. For two years the ladies have managed a course of 
entertainments which profited them about two hundred dol- 
lars last year (1902) and about one half that sum this year 
(1903). All money received is put into books. The library 
is open every Saturday afternoon and evening when books 
are issued by a committee which works for the sake of the 
cause of a public library. The lack of necessary public sup- 
port prevents for the present the possibility of a Carnegie 
building. 

The Political Equality Club, Woman's Christian Temper- 
ance Union, and the Woman's Union are societies among the 
women for purposes of improving moral and political con- 
ditions. The Woman's Union is not a select organization,, 
but it is open to all women who are interested in improving- 
local conditions. Recently the society interested itself ia 
beautifying the town by encouraging the cultivation of flow- 
ering plants and the care of lawns, parkings, and alleys. A 
flower contest among the children was one of the devices; 
used to accomplish the desired ends. 

Other minor organizations tend to group and re-group the 
people. It is moreover a fact that a few people belong to 



38 

many societies, and many people belong to no organization 
except the church. At the same time it is true that the 
many need the benefits of associations more than the few. 

SOCIAL ORGANS 

There are three general systems of social organs: (1) 
Sustaining System; (2) Transporting System; (3) Regulat- 
ing System. Under the sustaining system are included all 
social organs which are engaged in the production of wealth 
in either the extracting or the transforming industries. The 
transporting system conveys wealth and population from one 
part of society to another. The regulating system coordi- 
nates and renders efficient the activities of the sustaining and 
transporting systems and disciplines and developes the phys- 
ical powers of persons and society. The regulating system is 
essentially concerned with the generation and communication 
of psychical influences — knowledge, feeling, and willing. 
Every person or group of persons holding a piece of land 
performs the service of gaining control over food conditions 
or of uniting the land and population. Now there were very 
few conditions placed on the owners of Shelby County land 
as they acquired possession of the soil. A land agent (men- 
tioned above) was to sell land to German Catholics, and for 
every acre sold he was to pay fifty cents to the church. 

The government has, of course, exercised its special func- 
tion at various times to appropriate property needed for the 
public welfare, for highways and raili'oads. 

Many of the residents of the towns have taken advantages 
offered by building and loan associations. Others have ex- 
perienced the disadvantages arising from poorly organized 



39 

associations. These latter cases should be discussed under 
the topic "Social Pathology." 

Loan offices are established now where the savings of the 
frugal Davenjiorters or the assets of insurance companies can 
be borrowed on good security at a low rate. The local 
banks also furnish farmers and cattlemen ample funds with 
which to carry on their business. 

ORGANS OF PROTECTION 

It is impossible to separate the ideas of protection of pro- 
perty from the food process. In the early history of the 
county the family performed all the services of shelter and 
defence for itself. Hotels there were none on the prairie, 
and in almost every cabin where there was room on the floor 
a traveler was welcome to sleep. It is told that in the fifties 
west- bound travelers could always pay for their lodgings and 
meals, but when some of the disappointed gold seekers came 
back from the west their grateful appreciation of the kind- 
ness of the host was sufficient compensation because it was 
all they had to offer. Then the family dispensed its own 
medicine, made its own clothes from calico and homespun, 
captured game, made sweetening out of sorghum or maple 
sap or watermelons, prepared a substitute for coffee by roast- 
ing various cereals, used coarse flour and coarser corn meal, 
and cracked corn. In fact the family provided its own de- 
fense against nature and protection from the elements in 
almost every particular. 

Every township in the county has its trustees, who with 
the clerk constitute the board of health. The county em- 
ploys on contract physicians whose duty under the terms of 



40 

the contract is to care for the sick among the poor. In 
1902 the county spent $937.53 for medical services for pau- 
pers, and f$l,430.72 for quarantine and expenses in conta- 
gious diseases, making a total expenditure of $2,368.27. 
Quarantine is enforced in all cases of contagious or infec- 
tious diseases. 

The school board of the independent district of Harlan 
passed a rule that all children who have been absent from 
school on account of sickness shall present a certificate from 
a practicing physician stating that the child has no conta- 
gious or infectious disease. The school authorities and the 
board of health cooperate to the advantage of both. 

The county is on the whole well drained. The towns 
havnng water works draw the supply from wells. The sup- 
ply of water for Harlan is from wells which are within fifty 
feet of the Nishnabotna River. There is a thick bed of fine 
sand through which the river water would have to pass if 
any of it got into the wells. The city provides a dumping 
ground and inspects alleys and private premises in the inter- 
ests of the health of the community. This is done by a 
committee of the city council. 

In 1891 the city of Harlan voted to establish a system of 
electric lighting. A sum amounting to $15,000 in bonds 
and $3,500 in warrants covered the expense of installing 
the plant. The rates established and charged down to 
1902-3 are indicated as follows: 

RESIDENCE 16 CP. COMMERCIAL CHOPHOUSE 

1 Light $1.00 SI. 00 81.00 

2 Lights 1.25 1.25 1.25 

Additional 35 .50 .65 

Churches and lodges are required to pay three cents per night for 
each 16 op. lamp. 



41 

But these rates were unsatisfactory because the plant was 
running behind. In 1901 there was a deficit of $10,207.62 
charged against the electric light. The present city council 
urged on Ijy the Commercial Exchange, began to investigate 
and devise plans whereby the plant could be made to pay 
its own way. Several sources of loss were discovered; many 
lights were in use which were not recorded on the books of 
the city clerk; there was a considerable loss in the operation 
of the engines and dynamos; the mains were in poor condi- 
tion; the power house was too far from the center of the dis- 
trict using the lights; but the greatest source of loss was 
found to be that many of the consumers burned all of their 
lamps whenever the current was on. 

Smallleaks in the purchase of wire and other supplies 
were also found; and discounts and other rebates heretofore 
unnoticed are now obtained. In the past eleven months the 
system has made a net gain of $1,344.72, due to the more 
careful operation of the plant, an increase in the number of 
lights and the use of meters. The council has just adopted 
the Westinghouse scale with a meter rate of fifteen cents 
per kilowatt for each 1 6 candle power lamp for thirty days' 
use. 

At present there are sixty-three meters in use — thirty-five 
per cent of the service. Meters have not been put in unless 
the consumer advanced the price of the meter and accepted 
the service of lights for the sum of $17. The city retains 
the- title to the meters. It has already been shown that the 
use of meters will more than double the capacity of the 
plant. 

The plant consists of boilers, engine (Corliss), two dyna- 



42 

mos of 175 horse power and a voltage of 220 direct current, 
producing 643 kilowatt hours per day of an average of eight 
and one half hours, and generating a current of 856 horse 
power. There are 45. 8 miles of mains and 3 miles of branch 
wires (all overhead work). There are 1,700 lights used 
at present. The total cost of the plant to date has been 
122,303.62. 

Income for the current year is indicated as follows: 

Commercial and private lights ST, 037. 96 

Public lights 800.00 

Other sources 1,800.00 

Total §9,637.96 

Arc lights used in business houses are furnished at the 
rate of ^4.50 per month. The meters save consumers one- 
third of the former rentals. One case may be mentioned 
where eleven lights with the meter cost less than four lights 
on the flat rate. 

Fire limits have been established within which no frame 
building may be erected. A voluntary fire company of 
sixty members does splendid service whenever there is a fire. 
The telephone system makes the sending of the alarm and 
its spread a matter of only a few minutes. Here the trans- 
porting system overlaps the sustaining system. 

Many insurance companies have agents here who oft'er to 
insure against loss by storm, fire, lightning, or accident. 
There are two mutual fire insurance companies which have a 
large number of policy holders. One company deals in farm 
risks only, the other confines its insurance to town dwel- 
lings. Both companies afford a very cheap and an entirely 
satisfactory insurance. 



43 

The Danish farmers perfected an organization which was 
intended to equalize hisses occasioned by hailstorms. The 
Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Association was incorporated 
May 7, 1898. Among other specifications in the articles of 
incorporation, I find that policies to the amount of ^50,000 
were to be issued before any insurance was valid. Each 
policy holder was to pay a share of the loss according to the 
ratio which his policy bore to the whole amount of insurance 
in force. The company ended its existence after a severe 
hailstorm which ruined the crops of nearly every policy hol- 
der. No losses were ])aid. The county carries insurance on 
its public buildings to the amount of $SG, 850. 

There was a time when there was no need of banks, but 
now twelve banks serve the people by protecting the money 
entrusted to them. One of these banks keeps its deposits 
in a safe which occupies a conspicuous place in a large win- 
dow in plain sight of everyone on the street. The fact that 
the city employs a night watchman and that the safe is 
claimed to be burglar proof makes the location of the safe in 
the window an additional safeguard. 

ORGANS FOE THE PRODUCTION AND EXCHANGE OF WEALTH 

In this community the organs for producing wealth are 
largely extractive. Agriculture is the occupation of a large 
majority of the people. Of 17,932 people who live in this 
county 5,350 live in the towns. Less than one third of the 
inhabitants are not engaged in farming. Of this number 
many who live in towns depend on the farms to provide 
them with a livelihood. The transforming industries are 
few. A carpet and rug factory which makes and sells a 



44 

very good loom has grown out of a one-room carpet weav- 
ing shop solely by the skill and ingenuity of the boy 
who saw how he could make a lever throw the shuttle and 
return it. 

Similarly from a Ijlacksmith shop in which there worked 
a man who saw how he could make gasoline furnish power 
has come a gas engine which is a marvel in simplicity and 
power. A company has been organized to enable the suc- 
cessful enterprise to be carried out more completely. The 
company has already provided new machinery for the factory 
which will turn out gas engines, motors, and automobiles. 

A canning factory erected in 1903 consumed the product 
of over three hundred acres of sweet corn. Contrary to the 
custom of promoters of such enterprises the community was 
asked to provide only the site and guarantee the jjlanting of 
three hundred acres of corn. 

There are many other minor industries which might be 
mentioned in this connection, such as flouring mills, brick 
plants, cigar factory, broom factory, creameries, and indus- 
tries which are partly domestic in their organization. Here 
also we list masons, carpenters, dressmakers, shoemakers,' 
bakers, and so on through the list of those who in the union 
of the land and population add their capital of tools and 
strength to produce wealth. 

Exchange is still carried on in some parts of the county in 
primitive ways. Barter is used extensively in buying pro- 
duce from the farmers, many of whom find it difficult to use 
all the credit gained by the marketing of eggs and small 
fruit. Some have resorted to seeking special patrons at first 
hand without the assistance of the storekeeper. 



45 

Oue merchant has discontinued the use of due bills because 
of the many errors which arose. He now issues metal checks 
which call for goods at his store to the amount stamped ou 
the face of the check. It is interesting to note that this 
"tin money" is readily accepted by his fellow merchants. 
Inquiry proved that business courtesy was not the explana- 
tion of the ready acceptance of this medium, but rather the 
fact that the merchant who issued the checks could redeem 
them in goods or cash and that he was willing to do so at 
any time. 

Much of the exchange is conducted ou a credit basis by 
the use of checks and drafts. The deposits of the three 
banks of Harlan aggregate over a million dollars. The 
postoffice is used by many as a banking institution in that 
they depend on postal money orders to forward money in 
small amounts. The express companies perform the same 
function. 

ORGANS FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF WEALTH 

The organs for the transmission of wealth are few in ad- 
dition to the function of the family in inheritance. Agents 
of various life insurance companies and benefit associations 
are found here. In accordance with the statute there exists 
a commission for the purpose of assessing the collateral and 
inheritance tax. 

ORGANS FOR TRANSPORTATION 

The organs for transportation in early days consisted of 
oxen or horses and wagons as private conveyances and the 
stage coach as a common carrier. Until 18(59, when the 
Rock Island Railroad was completed to Council Bluti's, it 



46 

was a two days' trip to market or mill and return. Then 
Avoca became the market place for many Shelby County 
people. The ridges which run nearly north and south 
furnished excellent prairie highways the entire distance to 
Avoca. Many a farmer who now has to drive up and down 
the hills with his loads of grain longs for the good old times 
of the ridge road and wheat at a dollar a bushel. 

In 1878 a branch railroad was built from Avoca to Har- 
lan by a company called the Avoca, Harlan and Northern 
Railway Company whose function was to prepare the road- 
bed which the Rock Island agreed to tie and iron. The 
local company succeeded in getting a tax levied in Lincoln, 
Harlan, Westphalia, Douglas, and Greeley townships. This 
tax varied from one to four per cent on a doUar of taxable 
property, varying with the advantages to be gained by the 
operation of the railroad. After the road-bed was com- 
pleted the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Com- 
pany leased it for ninety -nine years. 

The main line of the Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul ruus 
across the northwestern part of the county passing through 
■fw"^*'*^ I^^fiance, vPanama, and Portsmouth, and has 24.81 miles of 
^ track. The Rock Island has only 17.1.5 miles of track, 

while the Northwestern has 18.72 miles in the branch line 
which was extended as far as Harlan in 1900. Previous to 
that time the Northwestern ran only to Kirkman. The 
Great Western has completed a road diagonally across the 
county from northeast to southwest. Two additional roads 
are much talked of, an electric line from Des Moines directly 
west and a line from Manning to Marne. These roads 
would pass through country that is now twelve miles from 



47 

a raili-oad. This territory is now reached by no ])ul)lic con- 
veyances, and the only access is through private means of 
transportation. The mail carrier sometimes takes passen- 
gers, and creamery wagons assist in the public service of 
transportation. 

Hotels have their omnibus lines and baggage wagons, and 
many dray lines have been established. Numerous livery 
barns supply teams and vehicles for many persons for whom 
private conveyances would be too e.xpensive. 

The delivery wagons and messengers of merchants form 
a considerable part of the transporting system. The oil 
wagons in town, which follow definite routes in the country 
a few times each week, serve a large number of people in a 
substantial manner. 

Farmers have united in their etfoi'ts to transport the farm 
produce easily. The men exchange work usually of a like 
kind. It is not uncommon to see a dozen wagon loads of 
hogs brought into town in a procession. The number of 
teams used is limited by the size of the drove to be trans- 
ported. At such a time every farmer helps his neighbor and 
is helped in return when he markets his own hogs. Many 
loads of lumber are taken to the farms after such a market- 
ing. 

THE COMMUNICATING SYSTEM 

The transporting system does a great service to the pub- 
lic by providing a means of communication. The railroads 
which make possible the present postal system, and the tele- 
phones and telegraphs by which rapid communication of 
ideas is accomplished are the material means which unite 
the people of Shelby County with the world. What it 



48 

means to be shut out from the rest of the world is felt oc- 
casionally when accidents or storms prevent the arrival of 
the usual mail. 

The communicating system of Shelby County expressed 
in miles consists of the following: 

C. «& N. W. R. R 18.72 miles 

C. M. & St. P. R. R 24.81 " 

C. R. I. & P. R. R 17.15 " 

American Express 18.72 " 

U. S. Express 41.96 " 

Harlan & Avoca Telephone and Telegraph Company . . . 35.10 " 

Western Union Telegraph Company 60.68 " 

There are about four hundred and fifty telephones in 
Harlan and vicinity, and of this number over fifty are on 
the rural lines. Iu(j[uiry at the central office brings out the 
fact that the busy time begins about seven o'clock in the 
morning and reaches its height by half past nine. Business 
is steady until noon when there is a lull during the dinner 
hour. From three until five and from seven until eight are 
busy times for "Central." There are very few calls after 
eleven o'clock at night. The desire to talk seems to go in 
waves over the town. Sometimes there is not a call for 
several minutes; then suddenly there will begin a wave of 
calls which sometimes lasts for twenty minutes. The ser- 
vice is continuous and offers good connections with neigh- 
boring towns. It is of much greater service than an earlier 
system which was operated twelve hours in twenty-four 
with no Sunday service. 

The press constitutes a very important part of the com- 
municating system. In this county at present there are six 



49 

weekly papers published in addition to five Danish publica- 
tions. The latter are written elsewhere with the exception 
of one whose name translates The Voice in the Wilderness. 
The local papers published in the county seat contain col- 
umns of notes from various correspondents in other towns 
and in the rural districts. Greater attention is given to 
local news than to items of wider interest because there are 
many daily papers taken. The three rural free delivery 
routes greatly increased the circulation of the daily papers. 

Commercial agencies keep banks and merchants informed 
as to the standing of business men in other communities. 
The banks serve as local commercial agencies because they 
can give information concerning the credit of almost every 
resident of the vicinity. 

The weather service forecasts are announced by display- 
ing flags on one of the business houses, by bulletins in the 
postoffice, and by small flags displayed by the rural mail 
wagons. 

The Commercial Exchange of Harlan gathers and spreads 
I information concerning the locality, and as an organ of 
communication forms a center in which the public spirited 
men of the town come together to make plans for the ad- 
vancement of common interests. The Agricultural Ex- 
change, consisting of nearly one hundred men, is urging the 
matter of better roads. The Fine Stock Association built a 
large pavilion on the grounds of the Shelby County Fair 
Association for the purpose of having a place for the sale of 
fine stock. The groups which gather at such sales and the 
hundreds who attend the annual fair are important aids in 
the communication of the knowledge of the best products 
and the best methods of production. 



50 

Church, school, and lectures furnish continual information 
for the population. Sermons are filled with practical facts 
bearing on the morals and spiritual life of the people. The 
schools broaden the horizon of the child's experience by- 
giving him new material for thought and connecting him 
with rich experiences of the past. Public lecture courses are 
popular and have become an important feature even in some 
of the smaller towns in the county. 

The commercial traveler not only tells the retail merchant 
of the best things which the wholesale house has to sell, but 
he learns of the demands made by the people on the retail 
dealer. When the drummer reports a general demand for 
some special article the whole set of productive and trans- 
forming organs are set in motion to supply the new call. 

Other minor means of communication are found in the 
groups which gather in the postoffice, at lunch counters, in 
billiard halls, and in business places and offices. Adver- 
tisements in the newspapers, on the bill boards, and by 
means of printed or typewritten letters sent through the 
mail in plain envelopes, or delivered by messenger, furnish 
the people with much undervalued information. 

THE REGULATING SYSTEM 

The regulating system shows many interesting phases in 
its history. A few extracts from the county records per- 
taining to the first elections show how the County Judge 
and the Justice of the Peace were once in control of aft'airs. 
It is noteworthy that these early records set forth the elec- 
tion of certain men to ofiice, but do not give the number of 
votes each received nor the names of the opposing candi- 



51 

dates. Other details were omitted which are now found in 
county records. Below are several extracts from the records 
showing the location of the first county seat, the division of 
the county into townships, and the results of early elections. 

Council Bluffs, December 3, 1853. 
A majority of the voters of Shelby County, Iowa, as shown by the 
petition and certified to by the District Clerk of said county, the 
county officers being electors. 

I therefore appoint Marshall Turly of Council Bluffs City, .T. F. 
Vails of Crawford County; Lorenzo Butler of Harrison County, 
who within two months of receiving notice of said appointment, be- 
ing sworn, or two of them shall locate the seal of justice for said 
county as near the geographical center as may be having due regard 
to the present as well as future population of said county. ' 

Samukl H. Riddle, 
Judge 7th Judicial District. 

The next item has no date, Init the entry immediately 
preceding is dated February 21, 1854, and the one immedi- 
ately following, July 3, 1854. 

I, James M. Butler, County Judge, do hereby divide the county 
of Shelby into two townships for the purpose of holding elections in 
the same, which precincts are known as Galland's Grove precinct and 
Southern precinct. 

At an election held in Shelby county, Iowa, on Monday, the 3rd 
day of April, 1854, William H. Jordan was elected to the office of 
County Judge; Milton M. Beebe was elected to the office of Sheriff; 
Alexander McCord was elected to the office of Treasurer and Re- 
corder; Adam Cuppy was elected to the office of Drainage Commis- 



' It is interesting to note that the seat of justice was located in tlie northeast 
one-fourth of section 27, township 81 north, and range 40 west, which is in the 
northwest comer of the county. The present county seat is very nearly in the 
geographical center. 



52 

sioner; James Ward was elected to the office of Prosecuting At- 
torney; and James Perry was elected to the office of Surveyor. 
April 1, 1854. 

James Butler, County Judge, T 

Thomas McCord, Justice Peace, I County 

( Canvassers. 
Uriah Roundt, Justice Peace. i 

At an election held in Shelby County, Iowa, on Monday, 7th 
August, 1854, for the purpose of electing one member to Congress, 
Governor, Attorney General, Auditor of State, Secretary of State, 
one Senator, County officers. County Judge, Recorder and Treasurer, 
District Clerk, a School Fund Commissioner, Prosecuting Attorney, 
County Surveyor, and Justice of the Peace, the result is as follows, 
to-wit: 

For Member of Congress . 
For office of Governor ... 



Auditor of State . 



Augustus Halle had 


43 votes 


Rufus B. Clarke 


9 '< 


Curtis Bates 


33 " 


James W. Grimes 


19 " 


Jos. Sharp 


29 " 


M. L. Morris 


11 


Andrew Stevenson 


18 " 



At an election held in the county of Shelby on the 2nd day of 
April, 1855, there were votes cast for the office of Register of State 
Lands — Anson Hart had one vote. 

For the office of Des Moines River Improvement, Wm. McKay 
one vote, J. C. Lockwood one vote. Prohibitory Liquor Law — for, 
four votes; against, fifty votes.' 

On the first Monday in April, 1858, an election was held to vote 
on the question "shall stock run at large." The total vote cast was 
113 of which number 62 voted in favor of the law and 51 against. 

The above extracts show that the early records of the 
county as kept are very incomplete. The records of the 



> It is to be inferred that the liquor law was of so much interest that the two 
offices to be filled were almost entirely ignored. 



53 

Justices of the Peace show many cases settled. One part of 
the record given below suggests the scope of work under- 
taken by the Justice's court. 

State of Iowa, Shelby County: 

An inquisition holden at Elkhorn Creek, near the east line of 
Shelby County, on the 7th day of April, A. D. 1869, before Martin 
Poling as Justice of the Peace, acting as coroner of said county upon 
the body of J. W. Wilson there lying dead, by the jurors whose 
names are hereto subscribed, the said jurors upon their oaths do say 
that the said Wilson is supposed to have been killed on the 15th day 
of November, A. D. 1868, by lightning. In testimony whereof the 
said jurors have hereunto set their hands the day and year aforesaid. 
Attest, W. L. Davis, 

Maetix Poling, J. P. D. S. Bowman, 

Elias Monroe, 

Jurors. 
I return a transcript of the above to the clerk of the District Court. 

Martin Poling, J. P. 

Acting as Coroner. 

The judicial system, courts, and lawyers are above the 
many authorities which arise out of the public sentiment for 
right doing. These centers of authority are the church 
school, and the indefinite "they" of public opinion. It is 
in a measure the product of church and school to which is; 
added the sentiment or opinion which seems to grow and 
scatter itself from nowhere in particular to everywhere ioi 
general. Wherever men meet and talk this same intangible 
force is growing. Not only are fashions fixed by this same: 
influence but morals, religion, and politics come under its 
sway. Custom and precedent are powerful allies of public 
opinion especially among the conservative people. 



> 



54 

The press has great regulative power. Whenever efforts 
are needed to secure any enterprise or to make any reform 
the papers do a great deal to influence public action by the 
information supplied and the arguments offered. Not a 
week passes but the press urges the resistance of some wrong, 
the assistance of right, and the advancement of the common 
welfare. 

A certain bookstore refuses to sell trashy stories to boys 
and girls, thereby raising the standard of the reading of 
many young people. 

The Woman's Union in carrying out its plans for a cleaner 
and more beautiful city is regulative in its nature. All the 
associations or societies which are educational in their nature 
must be regulative to the degree that they impose local 
conditions. 

The organs of government are specifically regulative 
through police, the courts, and prescribed administrative 
regulations. 

SOCIAL PATHOLOGY 

We have noted that the area studied is a composite society, 
possessing not only a social body with its organs, but also a 
social mind which acts, directs, and makes itself felt con- 
stantly. It is the product of association and the cause of 
social activities. The test of the efficiency of the whole 
organism or of any part thereof is the greatest possible good 
to the individuals who compose it. That there are many 
who are not getting the greatest possible good is due in part 
to the social disease from which no social organ is altogether 
free. 

Diseased individuals cannot adequately perform their 



55 

social function, and so the social fabric is weakened by the 
physical ills of the members of society. As a rule the 
boards of health in every township of the county are alert 
and careful to place contagious or infectious diseases in 
quarantine, but sometimes those restrained fail to realize 
the necessity of a conscientious observance of regulations. 
There have been no serious epidemics of ravaging disease. 
The occasional case of typhoid fever or similar diseases can 
be accounted for by unsanitary conditions in the immediate 
vicinity. The drainage is good and genera] conditions are 
healthful. The number of births during the past year 
exceeded the number of deaths. Small pox, scarlet fever, 
and diphtheria have caused very few deaths. These dis- 
eases persist in some parts of the county because the people 
are unwilling to use the necessary care in disinfecting the 
premises. 

Poverty and pauperism do not furnish in a rural com- 
munity the problems which are so important in the city. 
But even in such a prosperous agricultural section as Shelby 
County it seems necessary to have a permanent home for 
paupers. The county owns a farm of 166.39 acres, which lie 
in section 36 of Lincoln Township. The farm as now oper- 
ated contains one hundred acres of pasture. In 1902 this 
farm produced ninety tons of hay, twelve hundred bushels 
of corn, and one hundred bushels of potatoes. The farm is 
not self-supporting; and that the indoor relief furnished is 
expensive is evident from the following statistics which are 
taken from the financial statement for 1902 issued by the 
County Auditor: 



56 

Dr. 

Total cash expenditures during the year 1902 | 5,693.17 

Inventory of stock and other property at beginning of 

year 7,034.97 

Insurance (per annum) 60.00 



Cr. $12,788.14 
Sales of stock and other products as shown else- 
where $4,339.86 

Inventory of stock and other property at close 

of year 5,821.01 

$10,160.87 

Dr. balance $ 2,627.27 

Total number of inmates cared for in 1902 16 

Average number of days for each inmate 206 

Average number of inmates during the year 9 

Whole number of weeks of maintenance 466 

Average cost (cash) per inmate per week $5.64 

From the same source we gather the following facts con- 
cerning outdoor relief.^ 

EXPENSE OF PAUPERS OUTSIDE OF THE POOR FARM 

House rent $ 24.40 

Monthly allowances 807.00 

Clothing 10. 55 

Provisions 285.91 

Medical aid 888. 50 

Burial expenses 25.75 

Expense shipping out tramp 5.00 

Total $2,047.11 

The total expense of the public support of the poor for 
the year 1902 was $4,(374.38. Just what is meant by the 



' This does not include private charities or that given by the association of 
churches of Harlan. 



57 

item, "Expense shipping out tramp," cannot be stated. It 
is a fact that the officials of the community have given such 
parasites a few dollars and a few hours to leave the county. 
The tramp usually follows the main line of the railroad; so 
that the tramp problem may be increased for Harlan when 
the Great Western begins to operate its trains. 

On Thanksgiving Day each year the churches of Harlan 
hold a union service, oue part of which is the collection of a 
thank offering that is to be used in assisting the poor of the 
community in order to prevent them from calling on public 
charity. In case of sickness or misfortune temporary aid, 
judiciously given, has prevented pauperism. The aid is ad- 
ministered through the pastors, two of whom sign an order 
upon the treasurer for the money to purchase the necessary 
supplies. 

Of a total of one hundred and nineteen adjudged insane 
from 1871 to March 15, 1903, thirty-two were Danes, 
twenty- one Germans, and the remainder distributed among 
other nationalities. From January 1, 1900, to March I.'), 
1903, twenty-seven persons have been adjudged insane; and 
of this number two were Germans and thirteen Danes — nine 
men and four women. On March 1.5, 1903, there were 
twenty-nine insane from Shelby County in the hospital at 
Clarinda. Fifteen of these were Danes. There are two 
reasons commonly offered for insanity among the Danish 
people — their intermarriages and living in isolation. Doubt- 
less hard work, melancholy, and brooding over cares are the 
causes which unbalance the minds of most of those who 
have been pronounced insane. During the year 1902 the 
county paid $.5,791.27 to the State Hospital at Clarinda for 



58 

caring for thirty-seven patients. The Home for the Feeble 
Minded at Glenwood received $57.30 for caring for five 
persons sent to that institution. 

Although vice and crime have not increased noticeably 
there is a tendency on the part of too many young men and 
women to disregard parental authority and to neglect con- 
sideration for the rights of the general public. Such mani- 
festations of a viciousness in the garb of good society do 
more damage ultimately than the thief who steals and is 
caught and punished. 

During the past fifteen months there have been four cases 
of suicide, one attempted murder, and several cases of seduc- 
tion that have come to judicial notice. In six months 
there have been five violent deaths by accident and one sui- 
cide. These things are mentioned not because they are char- 
acteristic, but because the county has to contend with these 
difficulties just as does any other community. 

There is a condition of the social mind that is distinctly 
pathological. It grows worse as the special organs increase. 
The individual is becoming more and more forgetful of his 
relation to the social whole. Social unconsciousness is upon 
a large number of the population. The only way society 
can be cured of its ills is for each individual to realize his 
relation to the social whole and to be willing to sacrifice 
something for the common good. Prevention of social 
wrongs will then make cures unnecessary. 

We have now traced the growth of this society of Shelby 
County from its first crude settlement to the present time, 
when the farmer enjoys his fine home with its books, music, 
telephone, and rural free mail delivery. There is a marked 



59 

contrast between the oxen and wagon, and roadster and 
family carriage; forty miles to mill and postoffice, and forty 
feet to the mail box; the assessed value of all the pi'operty 
in the county in 1854 at $20,599, and in 1902 at $19,729,- 
913.64. There has been almost a thousand fold increase in 
less than fifty years. 

To ride through the beautiful valleys and see the fifty 
herds of registered thoroughbred stock, the large barns, and 
the fine groves is to be amply assured of the material pro- 
gress and prosperity of the county. To learn to know the 
people and their ideals is to be convinced that their social 
progress has been great and that it will continue with an 
increase in the next generation equal to the material progress 
of their fathers. John J. Louis 

Haelak, Iowa 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

InM I'llllll I 



mil iiii' 111 III i III Hill 1 11 ' II mil II 1 lUiiiiiili 
016 087 216 # 



